Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k award prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
Fender was given the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.
The money supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to charitable organizations.
Back when they received the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker announced that the act would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her prize among several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had protected several local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the properties.
